Chapter 38
As Konoha entered a new era, the village began to brace itself for the era of the Yondaime Hokage. Many changes were made to the village, and many more were being planned. Some of them were made in the open while others left for the cover of secrecy and darkness.
And Danzo Shimura would understand one of these changes one day as he tried to leave his compound and found his way impeded by a masked ANBU, who stopped him on his way.
"What is the meaning of this?" the old wounded war veteran asked in a chilling tone as the ANBU captain stood straight and answered.
"You have been placed under house arrest, Lord Danzo. You are not allowed to leave your compound." The words made Shimura Danzo's eyes widen. He gritted his teeth, frustrated at his streak of failures and defeats.
"By whose order?" he asked.
"By the order of the Yondaime Hokage..."
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IZUNA UCHIHA
Izuna hated Danzo Shimura. No. Hate was a lesser word.
Izuna Uchiha detested the old man and wanted to make him suffer a fate even worse than death, yet despite it all, he was not blind to his own limitations. Strong as he was, with all the little tricks and skills at his disposal, he was not yet strong enough to kill Danzo and all his men.
Alone, he and Danzo could be evenly matched, but the older nin would have an advantage over him because of his vast experience. He had heard tales about the man's prowess and knew that despite his shady character, Danzo was a skilled shinobi.
After all, one should never underestimate old men in a profession where men die young.
He could wait, for the time he was powerful enough, but then there was the matter of the clan and the village. If he confronted Danzo about his actions openly, it would destroy Konoha, especially with their enemies licking their wounds and waiting for any chance to pounce on them.
He had even contemplated separating the Uchiha clan, but it was simply too dangerous for everyone involved and would put his own family at risk.
No, Danzo needed to be dealt with delicately, and though he loathed it, he had no choice but to divulge the man's heinous crimes to the notice of Minato-san.
He knew that he could not trust the Third Hokage with this, given the man's special relationship with Danzo. Still, he hoped that Minato-san would be different and would punish Danzo for his traitorous actions or rather yet allow him to exact his revenge.
Otherwise, Izuna had put a tight leash around the old bastard, robbing him of all avenues of power. First, he had handled the hospitals and the orphanages, as he took control of them and took away his recreating prowess, and then he had slowly and slowly taken away his manpower, hunting down his agents when he could while creating a rift between him and Orochimaru, a man he knew not to trust but was still a rather valuable asset to have.
And so, Danzo Shimura would be getting rather frustrated by now with the constant stream of failures as Izuna foiled the man's entire sphere of influence.
This, on top of all his duties as the Head of the Fifth Division and personal training, meant that he had little time to spare during the day and had not been home for quite some days as he burned through this inhumane routine.
"Have you tried talking to it?" he suggested to the brown haired kunoichi as he sat beside her in the Uzumaki tower. And this was another one of his duties, to help Nohara Rin assimilate the bijuu chakra, a massive task but one that no one else could accomplish given the general aversion and fear of the jinchuriki among most people.
"Talking?" she confirmed with some surprise as Izuna nodded as they sat in front of another in meditative poses, as he tried to help her rework the basics of molding and using her now massive chakra reserves.
"Yes, talking," he began.
"The bijuu may seem like mindless hateful beasts, but they are not monsters," he added, and it did pain him to see these majestic creatures reduced to this, but in the end, Izuna was still powerless to change the ways of the world.
"They are intelligent and ancient creatures who have lived for centuries," he added, but her expression was evidence enough of her disbelief as she shook her head.
"Then why do they attack and kill humans?" she asked, and he raised a brow.
"And who is to say that it was not us humans who started this cycle of fighting and attacked them first?" he replied sharply, and his words sunk in.
"Shodaime-sama captured the tailed beasts to make use of them as deterrence against warfare, but one must note that before their capture, the tailed beasts, while violent and seclusive, did not cause any major harm to human civilization." She seemed skeptical of his words.
"That cannot be true," she gasped, and in her heart, Nohara Rin was a gentle soul, and he knew if led this way, she would find it easier to melt the heart of the massive beast that was now sealed inside her.
"It is," he assured her as she became silent.
"I have read the records myself. The tailed beasts are far older than one may think. Some even say that they are as old as the Sage of the Six Paths himself. They are mythical creatures in a way, and while most jinchuriki try to wrestle away the control of bijuu's chakra, I believe that it would not be an impossibility for you to form a comradeship with them and make a sort of an alliance with them," and her apprehension was obvious and visible as she became silent and contemplative.
"Just think of it like this," he began as he rose up and began to crack his shoulders and legs.
"How would you react if someone suddenly came and imprisoned you for no reason? You would be angry and frustrated, right? The Shodaime-sama dis kind of the same thing to the bijuu," and the fear of the bijuu and jinchuriki was so engrained in people that they rarely ever thought beyond it.
Though there was good reason for that fear, for bijuu were literal chakra monsters, and a single one of them was powerful enough to decimate entire villages.
"Yes," she answered after a few seconds as she stood up as well.
"Then you should be able to understand their anger as well," he said.
"Just think about it, and try it if you can," and she nodded.
"So, if there is no more issue, I will be going back by n..."
"Wait!" she suddenly called out to him just as he was about to leave the room.
"What?" he asked, and he saw her hesitate as she began.
"Sensei have cleared me to leave the tower," she began, and that was a bit of a surprise to him, but the seal had stabilized, and the dangers of the Sanbi running wild had lessened significantly in the last three months or so.
"That is good news," he added, and she nodded.
"Yes, and I wanted to visit the cemetery, but I," and he saw her fists ball up as her words failed her, and it took him a few seconds to understand her concerns.
"You are afraid," he guessed, and her eyes widened before they dropped down in embarrassment as she gave him a small nod.
"I am sorry, I know that you must be busy. I will ask Kushin..."
"I will go with you," he cut in as her eyes widened.
"You don'..."
"I will be waiting for you outside...." and with that he walked out the door, as he left the tower and leaned against its wall as he waited for her to get ready, given that her clothing for moulding and training was littered with seals and was specifically made.
He waited for a few minutes, until the door to the tower opened up once again as she slipped out of the tower, clad in her usual uniform ready to go.
"Let's go," he said, straightening up as she gave him a small smile and began to follow after him as he led her through the streets, taking her to the cemetery.
She had been locked up in the tower for quite some time and had rarely gotten out, and so with the war over, the hustle and bustle in the streets had increased exponentially as trade and markets flourished because of the establishment of peace.
"Wow! There are so many new shops," she gasped as they walked through the streets.
"I have never seen the streets so full of life before," and he nodded.
"The wars are over, and now the markets are flourishing once more," he added as she nodded.
"Yes, that must be it," and for people their age, it was the first time seeing this, for they had been born in a world rife with warfare and had not experienced peace like this.
"There are so many shops I want to visit," she added animatedly as she eyed the stalls and shops enthusiastically.
"I just saw a new dango shop and a new tailor just beside it," and Izuna raised a brow, seeing her excitement, as he shook his head before they finally reached the cemetery.
"We are here," and so he led them to the graves, and both Obito and Kakashi were buried beside one another, and as they both reached their graves, he stood back as she lit up the incense and began to pray for them, and soon enough the sound of her sobs filled the cemetery as she stood there and cried at their graves while telling them about how much she missed them.
And he stood there silently until she was done, and she turned around to face him with a swollen-eyed and flushed face.
"Thank you," she said as Izuna nodded, and just as he was about to turn, she called out.
"I remember that your friend is buried here as well, right?" she suddenly asked as Izuna nodded.
"Yes, he is," he answered.
"Where is his grave?" she suddenly asked, and so, Izuna led her to the grave of Shisui and lit up the incense there as well as began a small prayer for him.
"Shisui Uchiha," she read the name inscribed in the stone, and he nodded.
"Yes, he would have made a shinobi even finer than me," he added with no doubt as her eyes widened.
"He died trying to rescue me. I would not be here if it were not for him," and her face dulled as he told her his own tale.
"I blamed myself for it for years, but it took me some time to learn the lesson that I should not wallow in self-pity for it would only be an insult to his sacrifice," and he had listened to how she blamed herself for Kakashi and Obito's death, as he had done himself for Shisui.
"No, rather than wallowing in self-pity, it is our duty to work hard and live up to the dreams of those who gave their lives for us, for only by living a fulfilling life would we be able to give meaning to their sacrifice," and her eyes widened as she realised the meaning behind his words.
"You truly are a great shinobi, Izuna-kun," and so they made the journey back to the tower in relative silence until, just as he was about to leave, she called after him once more.
"Izuna-kun," and he stopped once more, turned to face her, and saw her standing there.
"Would you help me explore the new markets?" she suddenly asked. Izuna was not really blind to what this was. Before he could say anything, they were suddenly interrupted by a boisterous sound as he felt massive chakra suddenly emerge right behind him.
"So, you are the Uchiha brat I have been hearing so much about...." and as Izuna turned around, he found himself face to face with a massive shinobi clad in a green and red outfit, with a metal helmet concealing his white mane.
"Jiraiya-sama....!"
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JIRAIYA-The Toad Sage
For many years, he had hoped that his own sensei was unaware of the atrocities that were being committed by his comrade in his name. Yet it was nothing more than a hope, for in the back of his mind, Jiraiya had known that it would be nearly impossible for Danzo Shimura to run an organization like the Foundation without the approval of the Hokage.
And so, he had kept his mouth shut, hoping not to diminish the image and honor of the man who had trained him, and yet that hope was now gone. With the truth revealed Jiraiya wondered if he could ever see his sensei the same way.
It had taken him and Minato some time to decide on the appropriate course of action in response to sensei's revelations, and despite his anger and rage, Minato had understood that there was not much he could do.
ROOT and the Foundation had been shut down. If he were to open an investigation into the matter, it could spill open secrets that could unravel the very fabric of Konoha, so they had no choice but to bury the matter while placing Danzo Shimura under house arrest.
Minato wanted to do something more, yet Danzo still had some fame within the populace. With his own sensei intervening on his behalf, their options were truly limited.
But they were not the only people who knew of this heinous secret, and he knew there were many more who knew of it. Only one person had dared to bring this forward and would find their measures a bit light-hearted.
"A mission?" the young Uchiha frowned skeptically, and Jiraiya found himself surprised by the boy's age, given just how large a bounty was placed on him.
Reading a file was much different than seeing him for himself, and Izuna Uchiha was, in many ways, still a child. Yet if his Bingo Book entry or even Minato's words were anything to go by, the boy was an elite jounin who could go toe-to-toe with any shinobi.
"Yes, and you get to work with the man whose fame spreads far and wide throughout the continent," he posed, yet the boy was not impressed as he raised a brow.
"The Toad Sage, Jiraiya himself," and the boy sighed.
"There is no need for this showmanship. I am not so easy to impress," and he deflated as the boy opened up the scroll and began to skim over the mission contents.
"Kiri?" the boy read, and he nodded.
"Yes, Kirigakure is supposedly planning a massive mission to recapture the Three-Tails, our job will be to find out the details and then dismantle this entire operation," though the real purpose of this mission was to simply remove the boy from the mission for some time, to deter him from making a rash decision.
"You seem rather unexcited for someone who gets to join a Sanin on a mission?" he asked, giving up on the superfluous acts as the boy shrugged.
"You are not the first Sanin I am working with. I have worked with both Orochimaru-san and Tsunade-sama before," and indeed, he had. The boy had even replaced one of them, much to his surprise, taking over Tsunade's position as the Head of the Medical Corps.
"Still, you have yet to work with the best one," he suggested, and the boy closed off the scroll.
"After all, I have heard that you are quite interested in Senjutsu," and the way the boy perked up at those words was answer enough, as Jiraiya smirked.
"And as far as I know, neither Orochimaru nor Tsunade are sages." The boy's interest was piqued at this offering.
"That they are not, but from what I know, you are not a complete sage yourself," and it seemed to him that this one was not so easy to impress.
"How do you know that?" he asked sharply as the boy shrugged.
"I have my ways," and then he passed him back the scroll.
"Since the mission is not urgent, I will need at least a few days to prepare. As you know, I am the head of the Medical Corps, and I cannot simply leave on a moment's notice. I think I will be ready to leave in two days. We will meet at the village gate," and with that, the boy simply walked away, leaving a perturbed Jiraiya behind, who watched his retreating back with a frown.
"No wonder Tsunade is so impressed by the boy. Let's see what you are truly made of..."
.
.
.
And so, Jiraiya settled down on a branch near the Konoha hospital, one that allowed him to stare directly into the Hospital's emergency and Operation Theatres. He began to observe the enigma that was Izuna Uchiha, and it took him only an hour to be surprised. He realized that Tsunade had been right about the boy.
He had not seen anyone use iryo-ninjutsu as skillfully as the boy, at least, anyone not named Tsunade Senju.
"Well, well, an Uchiha using iryo-ninjutsu of the Shodaime..." he whispered, as he saw that faint greenish hue of his chakra.
"...I never thought I would see the day."
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